student survivor

VIOLET

Age: 19, but if you ask her age she'll just stare at you morosely

Height: 6ft in ridiculously chunky black platforms, 5'2" without

Star sign: Scorpio (depressive, brooding, intense)

Subject: English Literature - favourite book Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

On the stereo: Sisters of Mercy. (Did you know they aren't sisters at all?)

On the back: Black lace cobweb shirt embroidered with silver spiders

On the plate: Steak (rare, bleeding profusely) with several cloves of garlic

On the road: A customised funeral hearse, with large black wreath

On holiday: Anywhere without much sun or daylight, like Sweden

On the doormat: 'Death & Black Metal Magazine'!, and parcels of creepy black clothes from Ebay

Hobbies: mooching about miserably, applying kohl eyeliner, sleeping

Part-time job: skulks around behind the bar in the Dying Toad pub

Her take on Uni life: What's the point? No one understands me.

What's your favourite part of Uni life? Trying to frighten wussy students

And the worst? Having to go out into the light. Why can't they give lectures at night? It's just not fair.

What have you missed most? At home I used to go to the Slimelight club, but at Uni no one's bothered setting anything up for us Goths (sniff).

What has been the greatest surprise? No one seems that scared of me, which is a shame. When I put my fangs in everyone just laughed.

How have you coped with money? I don't care about money. I don't even look at my bills.

What would your top financial tip be for other students? Buy everything second-hand from Ebay. It's much cheaper, and you can pick up some real bargains. I got a dead bat for only five pounds.

Budget

Household income: £28,000

Income

Violet gets a maintenance grant worth £1,042, a university bursary of £1,000 a year and a loan of £3,363. She adds to this by working in the Dying Toad pub for 15 hours a week for £5 an hour. This brings in an extra £3150 a year!

Expenditure

Violet spends £7200. £480 a year goes on cigarettes and she spends £75 a month to keep her black mini on the road. Insurance and petrol add up to quite a bit. Good thing she's got a part-time job to keep it going.

Repayment

If Violet got a job after graduation earning £20,000 a year, she'd repay her student loan at a rate of £37.50 a month. That's less than what she spends on fags!

To work out a detailed budget use UNIAID's Student Calculator

Annual Income
Maintenance Grant	£1,042
Annual Student Loan	£3,363
Grant + Loan	£4,405
University Bursary	£1,000
Contribution from Folks	£0
Interest Free Overdraft	£1,000
Part-time work (in term time)	£3,150
Access to learning fund	£0
Total Income	£9,555

Expenditure	Month	Year
Rent	£250	£3,000
Food	£80	£960
Shopping	£50	£600
Utilities (electric, gas, water included in halls fees)	£0	£0
Smoking	£40	£480
Mobile/phone bill	£15	£180
Books/stationary/equipment	£30	£360
Travel/Transport	£50	£600
Socialising	£60	£720
Total Expenditure	£600	£7,200

Course fees are also payable and a loan to cover this cost is available. Course fees don't have to be paid back until a student is earning over £15,000!